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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22956616">Gloria Aeterna</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMorgaine76/pseuds/LadyMorgaine76'>LadyMorgaine76</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Breathe My Love... [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell, Simon Snow &amp; Related Fandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Battle, Dragons, Family Feels, Feelings, Goodbyes, Healing, M/M, Past Lives, Possibly Unrequited Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 12:20:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,505</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22956616</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMorgaine76/pseuds/LadyMorgaine76</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Battle of Watford is here!<br/>I'm not actually that good at writing action scenes, so let's throw in feelings and whatnot in the middle, shall we?<br/>This is the beginning of the intertwing between the Breathe My Love Series and the Undefeated fanfic!<br/>Niall also finds his voice in this series...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Breathe My Love... [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542856</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Gloria Aeterna</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Title from my favourite rendition of the Classical piece by the same name, sang in Greek by Nana Mouskouri!<br/>Recuerdos de Alhambra, by the same artist inspired Niall's monologue...</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <b>Agatha</b>
</p><p> </p><p>It's happening… it's really happening…</p><p>After Simon sacrificed his magic to the Humdrum entity, (and saved us all. That part of the prophecy was true.) (I hate prophecies… just be fucking clear about what's going to happen and when! No one should need a degree in Egyptology or Classic Literature to only get one third of a prophecy right!) I thought that was the end of it!</p><p>I made sure it would be the end of it for me. But then those fucking vampires happened… And now I'm here, again, at Watford.</p><p>My wand is back in my hand and for some weird reason, I've stopped being afraid.</p><p>Because I'm not here to stand at whomever is today's hero's side to play damsel in distress, am I?</p><p>I'm here on my own. Fighting on my own. <em> For </em>my own!</p><p>If I survive this, I might decide to remain in England.</p><p>I might make plans for myself that won't need my mother's seal of approval…</p><p>(I've grown distant to my parents. I'm not fulfilling their plans. I'm not the perfect porcelain doll/Hero's future wife they tried grooming me to be.) (They're not really bad. They just have an outdated vision of life, love and family that belongs in the Victorian Era.)</p><p>If I survive…</p><p>I'm not even scared of that anymore…</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Penny</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Simon is at forefront.</p><p>Magic-less Simon. Red wings stretched out, the sword of Mages in his hands and the fighting stance I've seen countless of times on him.</p><p>But this time it's different!</p><p>There's a green dragon - with Baz on her back! - by his right side and a blue dragon on his left.</p><p>The Salisburys hover above him on their bonded-dragons.</p><p>The entirety of the Grimms and the Pitches follow them.</p><p>Then the rest of us! <em> All of us! </em></p><p>Everyone is following Simon's lead!</p><p>
  <em> We're going to war… </em>
</p><p>I'm twenty years old and I'm standing at Watford's gates ready to march into battle. I don't want to be here, but I'll be damned if I'm not standing by my friends', my family's, my whole world's side!</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Baz</b>
</p><p> </p><p>He looks glorious at the helm of all of this people.</p><p>He looks like the heroes of old, the ones I read about in countless books.</p><p>I always knew he didn't need magic to be brave. </p><p>Courage is when you're scared and you push through anyway!</p><p>I know not of anyone else more courageous than Simon-fucking-Snow!</p><p>This incredible nightmare of a man that I love with all my heart is leading us into battle!</p><p>I'd follow him to depths of hell and back…</p><p>(Sometimes I think that's all we've been doing on repeat.)</p><p>(I'd still do it again, if only to be by Simon's side.)</p><p>I'll march into battle with him… for him…</p><p>It's time.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Simon</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Let's fucking do this!</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Snowdrop</b>
</p><p> </p><p>I sense their approach from the depths of the Wavering Wood before I see them.</p><p>The darkness they've chosen to stand for, emanates from these creatures.</p><p>Here's the misconception about what are now called Dark Creatures:</p><p>There were no Dark Creatures in the beginning. There's never been a category of magical creatures that were intrinsically dark.</p><p>It's a choice, like so many things in life…</p><p>They chose again and again to walk through the darkest paths of magic, until that notoriety stuck to them.</p><p>And when everyone tells you you're bad, you start to believe you're bad!</p><p>But the boy astride me is an example that the choice still exists and you can still make it. He did.</p><p>Basilton is a vampire.</p><p>And he's a good man! His heart is pure in more ways than the most glorified heroes in this world possess…</p><p>His capacity for love lits his soul like he carries the sun within him.</p><p>The tragedy of it all, is that he believes himself to be devoid of soul. To be dead.</p><p>He couldn't be more wrong!</p><p>First I'll protect him and then, with Simon's help, I'll show him how wrong he his.</p><p>I'll help him see himself in the light that Simon sees him.</p><p>Both of them need to see each other through the other's eyes.</p><p>But right now, we need to put an end to this battle. We'll give them victory through our flames. </p><p>Afterwards, Watford will have to change yet again…</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Simon</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Everyone believed I would feel scared, having to go into battle without my magic. But I'm not. This is what I trained for, all of these years.</p><p>Most of my previous fighting was done mostly without my magic actually being of any help…</p><p>It's always been me, my sword and Penny. (and Baz… even if he did complain a lot about it back then.)</p><p>(When you add it all up, he's spent more time fighting at<em> my side </em> than against me.)</p><p>Now it's me, my sword, my boyfriend, Penny and a whole group of mages, dragons and a dozen vampires.</p><p> </p><p>We spread out quickly and evenly on the battlefield.</p><p>There's one dragon and its mage per advancing group. It gives us a huge advantage that becomes all the more obvious as we swiftly progress towards the hordes of werewolves that make up their forces frontline.</p><p>I'm not surprised to see that the vampires, who've orchestrated this attack, remain on the back, using these other creatures as shields…</p><p>They want to seize power.</p><p>They need to remain alive to do so.</p><p>Unfortunately for them, the Salisburys and the dragons do not need to physically advance on the field to get to them!</p><p>Neither do I!</p><p>I take to the skies with the Clan, on pursuit of the vampires. Watching Baz throwing spells while riding Snowdrop is quite a scene!</p><p>There's fire coming out of both, sweeping through the ground, turning the vampires on their path into nothing more than ashes!</p><p>It's eerily beautiful, in a way…</p><p>Blue is flying steadily by my side, offering me the same protection that Snowdrop is giving Baz and I feel an enormous wave of emotions pouring out of this majestic creature. Sometimes I feel his golden eyes piercing through me and Baz, for whatever reason, and there's this powerful rush of longing, nostalgia even that I do not understand…</p><p>I've felt his thoughts slip through my mind, reassuring me I will.</p><p>It's all so fucking mysterious…</p><p>But right now, I focus on the fight, on keeping my wits about it.</p><p>I don't have magic to throw spells at a safe distance, like the rest of them. I have to physically fly by our opponents and mow them down with my sword, then quickly gain altitude before they have a chance to get their hands on me.</p><p>I think about our friends further back, but Penny and Agatha's group is being protected by Lord Salisbury himself, and Dev and Niall have Robert Salisbury's oldest daughter, Colleen, on their side. She's three years older than me and apparently she's as much of a powerhouse as I've heard her missing aunt, Lucy Salisbury, was!</p><p>They'll be just fine…</p><p>Shepard wasn't allowed to come.</p><p>He looked at us and asked 'Why'... As if it wasn't obvious…</p><p>He's not trained to fight and he does not know these creatures! He cannot charm them or use sarcasm to fight them off!</p><p>Were not about to endanger him like that…</p><p>And I need to keep focus on what's ahead of me.</p><p>The vampires are trying to run away from the flames our group keeps pouring onto them when I spot two of the former Mages Men amongst them. I don't know what they promised them or what they think they'll win by siding with them… </p><p>They're throwing spells our way and it seems they're concentrating on Snowdrop. I see her, with wings spread out, gaining altitude while Baz leans into her to avoid the drag. Blue and I dive towards the mages and I manage to take one down but not before his friend throws a <em> Another one bites the dust </em> at Snowdrop.</p><p>It shouldn't reach them… they're up in the skies…</p><p>It shouldn't…</p><p>And yet it does.</p><p>It brushes on Snowdrop's shoulder and hits Baz.</p><p>He falls down.</p><p>Baz is falling down and he's not reacting…</p><p>I scream his name and fly up as fast as I can, but he's dropping so fast…</p><p>
  <em> Please, please, please… </em>
</p><p>I only catch a blurry dark figure under me, flying even faster.</p><p>Roaring!</p><p>Blue is flying towards Baz and he's roaring!</p><p>It feels like my heart has stopped beating altogether and it only jolts awake when Baz falls onto Blues' back!</p><p>"Baz!" I call for him, landing on Blue also and taking my boyfriend into my arms. He's breathing and I can see he's beginning to regain conscience. "Are you ok, love?"</p><p>He winces and rubs the place on his ribs where the blow of the spell hit him.</p><p>"I'm fine… How, in the name of Merlin, did that arse manage to thrust the spell this high?"</p><p>" I don't know. But after what Blue did, no one's gonna be able to ask him either." I hold him tight and kiss him, because I feel like I'll explode if I don't feel his lips on mine right now! Like a palpable confirmation that Baz is alright!</p><p>"I can live with that…" He smirks. "Let's end this, shall we, love?"</p><p>
  <em> "Blue?" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "He's with me now. Go to my daughter. I'll keep him safe." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "You like him, don't you?" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "He carries Alexander within him. He has my undying loyalty." </em>
</p><p>It's all I need to hear from Blue. Baz will be protected and we can go back into the fight. I search for Snowdrop with my mind. She flies my direction, she feels angry and hurt…</p><p>
  <em> "I'm so sorry, Simon…" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "He's alright. Your father saved him. I don't blame you, Snowdrop. No one thought that spell could reach so high." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "My father will protect him forever, if needed be." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "Who was Alexander? He spoke of that name, saying Baz carried him within him… what did he meant with that?" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "When my father was but a child, there was a Pitch boy that loved dragons and he adored my father! You carry his sword now…" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "The Pitch sword." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "Yes. The Salisburys and the Pitches go a long way back. Only quite recently did they become somewhat more distant. Not anymore!" </em>
</p><p>Have I said this is all too fucking mysterious?</p><p>Yeah… I feel like I'm stepping into a completely unknown and hidden world, kept guarded by Blue and the Salisbury dragons.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Baz</b>
</p><p> </p><p>When the spell hit me, and before I lost consciousness, there was a moment I thought…</p><p>There was a voice. A deep growling voice. He called me… or was it me?</p><p>I heard a name in my mind and deep inside me, I recognized it… like for a moment that name was my name!</p><p>And I knew who was calling me.</p><p>Blue called me. Called for someone that for a second was me…</p><p>
  <em> "Alexander!" </em>
</p><p>I know that name.</p><p>I know who he was.</p><p>I also know my grandfather forbade his name to be said and there was rumours that he ordered every single personal item that had once belonged to Alexander Pitch to be destroyed. He was trying to erase his very existence from the Pitch House history.</p><p>But I'm not Alexander…</p><p>I'm not…</p><p>Am I?</p><p>My mind feels spilt, like there's an invisible line inside it blurring at the edges.</p><p>And when Simon held me?</p><p>I saw the same blurriness in him, like there were two different people inhabiting his body.</p><p>I saw my Simon: wild bronze curls, tawny skin sprinkled with freckles and moles, his blue eyes on mine.</p><p>And I saw someone else: Blond haired, a smattering of freckles along his nose and cheeks, blue eyes with a mischievous glint to them that isn't that usual on Simon.</p><p>I saw two different men… and I loved them both...</p><p><em> I </em> loved <em> my </em> Simon!</p><p>And there's was something inside me, that blurriness with fleeting memories that I know do not belong to me, that loved the other man buried within my Simon's eyes…</p><p>I can't hear Blue anymore, but I feel like things will never be the same again.</p><p>We've crossed some mysterious threshold we weren't probably supposed to,in this lifetime, and after this battle is over, we must decide how to proceed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Niall</b>
</p><p> </p><p>It's over…</p><p>This big life changing battle that's supposed to change the World of Mages forever is over…</p><p>We're victorious and, no matter what the older folks think and say, it was a boy without magic that brought us all together and led into victory.</p><p>They should apologize to him.</p><p>We all should.</p><p>He was the Chosen One.</p><p>Just not in the manner they expected…</p><p>And me?</p><p>I stand here on the sidelines, watching the celebrations.</p><p>They don't know it yet, but I had a choice of my own to make.</p><p>I've been invited to attend the Berlin University of Arts.</p><p>It means leaving for the remainder of the three years needed for my BA.</p><p>It means saying goodbye to the World of Mages, for a while.</p><p>It means parting with my friends.</p><p>It means leaving Dev behind…</p><p>But then again, he's never truly<em> seen </em> me, has he? Not the way I dreamed of.</p><p>One could be tempted to look at Baz and Simon romantic story and think that maybe, just maybe my story could have a happy ending.</p><p>Here's the thing…</p><p>This whole story? Watford; learning how to be a better mage; befriending Baz and Dev?</p><p>It all feels like it's not truly my story.</p><p>We've all been invited to witness the tragedy that's been Baz's life, the rise and fall of Simon Snow, aka The Chosen One, how they drew a line and placed each other on opposite sides, how they came together, almost fell apart and finally came out of the other side stronger than ever…</p><p>It's their story.</p><p>I'm just on the sidelines.</p><p>And in the end… well...</p><p>...It's not that hard to leave the scene unnoticed when you've been nothing more than a background character to everyone else's story…</p><p>The hardest part will be carrying my unrequited love for Dev and learning how to move on.</p><p>So, I remain here, watching them. Feeling like I'm outside looking in.</p><p>I watch as Mr Grimm's facade fall to the ground as he pulls Simon and Baz into a tight embrace. As Fiona Pitch allows herself to be drawn into it too.</p><p>I watch the the git I'm in love making a fool of himself with Agatha, who simply shrugs and proceeds to walk off to where Penelope Bunce and the Shepard boy are lively talking.</p><p>I watch the dragons flying above us like fiery guardians.</p><p>I watch all of it.</p><p>And then I make my exit.</p><p>My curtain calls is marked on a calendar and I need to decide how to break the news to my friends… old and new.</p><p>Let them all savour victory as they should…</p><p>Like I said…</p><p>This is not my story.</p><p>
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